Pie rimming machine



Oct. 29, 1940. J mss AL I 2,219,448

PIE RIMMING MACHINE Filed Sept. 17, 19:58 7 Sheets- Sheet 1 Oct.' 29,1940; I Rj 2,219,448

PIE RIMNING MACHINE Filed Sept. 17, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 29, 1940.L J. ss ET AL 2,219,448

PIE RIMMING MACHINE Filed Sept. 17, 1938 7 Shets-Sheet s @ermrci zamel eOct. 29, 1940.

L. J. HARRISS El AL PIE RIMMING MACHINE Filed Sept. 17, 1938 7SheetsSheet 5 160 IIIII'IW ll A 130 fzzdazz/zws.

erzaarc/ Zwzkzbers Oct. 29, 194 1.. J. HARRISS ET AL PIE RIMMING MACHINE7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Sept. 17, 1938 O t. 29, 1940- 1.. J. HARRISS ElAL- 2,219,443

PIE RIMMINQ MACHINE Filed Sept. 17, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 7.Z'zaflerafiazzs. [Zqga Ja 27168. Bezzaard Zmens' Patented Oct. 29, 1940tmv T TES. iENi m g a 125 1 3 CHINE Lloyd J.

Oak Park, 'Ill.; said La *Harriss Harris s, Chicago, and BernardLambers,

hers assignor to said I ApplicationtSeptember 11, saa's'riaif No.230,564

. .Our 7 invention. contemplates and provides a novelfandadvantageousmachine for rimming pics, in which apie thathas been filled andprovided. with atop crust automatically has performed upon it theoperations of trimming the excess crust from the edge of the pie tin,raising a pie crust -.bead of thicker section around the periphery of.the pie, dusting .flour. upon the thickened portion, and finallykneading the bead to provide the pie with a crimped edge. a

Although this machine may be used ming all types of pies, its method ofoperationis such that it is particularly adapted for rimming pie crustshaving a much larger portion of shortening than is customarily usedwithout danger of the crust becoming torn, even though such pie crustsare of a very fragile texture. 1.

Inthe past, the amountof shortening which could be used in a piecrust-dough" has been. limited by the fact that piemaking machinery withwhich we. are acquainted puts considerable strain upon the-unbaked piecrust, thus necessitatingthe use ofa tough dough having a relatively lowshortening content.- Also, 'the-rsticki-P proportion oishortening isincreased. This increases thedifilculty of preventing dough having alarge=proportion of shortening from adhering to the dough workingmachinery. i

.aItis; therefore, an important object. of this inventionito provide. anovel-machine for rimming pies which puts very little strain on thepiecrust,

andwhichlhas means adapted to preventthe .dough from ticking tothe doughworking elements. V,

Another object of thisinvention is to provide a pie machine having anovel means for'forming acrimpededge upon pies. A..further object ofthis invention is to provide a novel machine for trimming excess crustfrom the periphery. of a pie,.sifting flouraround the edge of. the'pie,and finally'kneadingthe edge of the pielto form a crimpedperiphery.Another object of this invention .is to provide a machine of the typedescribed having anovel meansfor sifting flourupon theedge of a pie.

A furtherv object of i this .invent'on is to provide pie'in properrelation to the operating machine elements.

50 Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a readingoithe following vdescriptionof a preferred embodiment of this invention.In the drawings in which like parts are desige nated py likenumerals.throug out the several for rimness of unbaked pie crust dough increasesas the merits taken (c1. ion-1) Fig. l is a plan our-invention; 5 Fig;2;is a ,vertical sectional view of the machine 1 shown in Fig. l takenin the direction-of the arrows along theline 2.-2..of Fig.1; 1 5

Fig; ,3; is a horizontal sectional view taken in the direction of the.arrows along the lined- 3 of,;Fig-.-a2;:-; l ,jdE-ig'. 41s a horizontalsectional chineztaken in :the' direction of the line 4.-4:1of Fig. 2;. ay i Fig. 5 v is-g an enlarged detailed view of thecrust trimming and:bead forming head shown; associated with the; pie carrying and liftingmecha- 7 nism, illustrated, partly in elevation and partly l6inrsection;zwith'the plane of the sectiontakengin the direction oftherarrows along the line.5-5 ofFig.1; p 1 a a Fig. 6 is a horizontalsectional view takenv in the directionof the arrows along the line 6-6of 20 F Fig. 7- shows the interior structure of the flour siftingwmechanism and is a vertical sectional view taken in the direction of thearrows along the line 1- Tl-of Fig. 1-;,. 25

Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken in. the direction of: thearrows along the line 8--8-- of Fig.

7 and shows indetailthe pawland ratchet step; off mechanismwhichactuates the, flour sifter;

.Fig. 9.1 1s; a horizontalsectional view takenin $0 the direction of thearrows along the line 9 9 o Fig.7.; a

Fig. 19 is a vertical sectional view taken: in

view of a machine embodying view of 'the direction of the arrows alongthe line Illll] of Fi -v .2; 3 35 v =llf is-a horizontal sectional viewtaken in the-direction of the arrows along the line i I -ell F g-10;; IH 1, I

- .Fig.*-l -2;;is horizontal sectional viewptakelnin the directionofthearrows along the linelZ-IZ 40 of Fig. 2;

.Fis. 11 ;.f s.a'd v l n dyie of t e bins 2 in the-direction of thearrows along the li e H i F -2;. g Fig.--.14.i s a horizontal sectionalview taken in 45 thewdirection of the arrows along the line 14-44 fF aZ;1 r Fig. 15.;is a-developed view of the cam which operates the pie rack.-l if ti ng mechanism; and.

Fig. 161s a vertical sectional View takenin the directionof the arrowsalong the-line .B -JGIQOf R I The irameior t e machinecomprises a base20, an upright-central tube 22 rising therefrom, and

a fiat sew-cir u ar.ta lezflzrisi ly.attac ed:to

the arrows along 10 the upper end of this tube. consists of four ofwhich is supplied with a diagonally upwardly extending brace 26 weldedsecured to the central tube 22 by means of bolts 29. By means of thisconstruction, the central tube, the legs, and the bracing bars aresecured into a rigid unit. The top. plate24, is securely bolted t olaflange 28 atfthe upper end of a collar 30 which embraces the uppermostend of the tube 22, and is rigidly attached thereto by means of bolts32.

The section of the tube 22 between the block 21 d the flanged collar 38carries a pairof ball through which a central 'r0d,56- slides'free1y. Apie carrying tray 58 is attached to the upper end of the rod-56 by meansof a set screW GO,

end of a pin or set screw 64, secured in. the column 58, extends. To'givethe tray supporting column a'fini'shed appearance; a sleeve 86- isat- 58 is raised and lowered. v I I Bymeans of the mechanism describedabove, it -will be seen that the p1e-holdingtray'58may by raising andlowering the rod-56.

As shown in Figs. 1 and' 2g th'e plate 24acarries an- -electric'motor 68belted: to a speed re- This speed reduction gear given is"proper"for-theembodiment illustrated which rims approximately 600 pies an hour.

'The'upper end ofthe shaft 12 is provided-with a 'sprocket 14, theutility of which willbe described presently. g g

"The lowerend of the shaft '12 extends through the table'24 and drives adrum cam 16,--the' -track tube 22, a slot I88 in the tube The roller 18is rotatably secured to a block 82, whic in turn is rigidly attached toa recipro- 86. The plunger 84 extends downwardly through the centralstationary tube 22 and is provided at its lower end with a pair of slots88 and 90. Opposite the slots 88 and 90, the tube 22 is cut away at 92and -84, so. that .as the cam 16 revolves, therebyraisingwandlowering.the central receive the inward ends of levers 96 and98, the :utilityofWhich will be indicated shortly.

To prevent rotation of the shaft 84 in the 22 and flanged collar30,through [which the block 82 extends,

is fitted to the sides of the block so that the andcollar 38 oppositethe head of .the'screws'" 86 so :that by moving the rod. upwardly anddownwardlyslightly, these screw heads 86 may this 1101810210 allowassembly or .disassembly lowing mechanism. 1

Referring to Fig. :10iin which this cam :16 is shown in detail,

ing for the cam 16, while at the same time: preventing the possibilityof binding if the parts are slightly misaligned, I Y

The upper end ofltherevolving tube'flicarries a disc .I I2 provided .thecam 16, these levers thereon,

; I26 and I28 by means of set screws Although the upper surface which ispositioned beneath the I38 and M0, respectively,so that: as the-.-central rod 84 is moved upwardly "and downwardly by 96 and 88 will berocked about their pivot points I38 1, and .140, thereby causing araising and lowering of .thefishafts I26 and I28, respectively.

The upper ends of the shafts 126 liftingv buttons I42 and I44,respectively, threaded so that by rotating these buttons they may beadjusted to different vertical positions on these shafts. When properlyadjusted, the lifters are secured against movement on the-shafts I46 andI48. of the lifter I42, dough trimming rollers to be describedpresently, is fiat, the lifter I44 beneath the crimping mechanism,ialsoto be described later, is provided "with a socket I50. Thus, when a pieis raised beneath the crimping mechanism, thesocket I50 engages thelower end of the rod 56, thereby locking the pie-carrying mechanismagainst rotation until. thepie is again lowered from beneath thecrimping mechanism and the socket I50 disengaged from the shaft 56.

The reason that we prefer to lock the rotating pipe carrying mechanismat this particular point is that the crimping mechanism in performingits operation requires the most accurate location of the pie relativethereto, and this being true, it appears to be preferable to lockthemachine at this point rather than at'the center of the machine, or atsome other one of the working stations.

step-off disc H2 is so placed on the column 44 that as the mechanism isstepped off one-sixth of a revolution with each revolution of the cam16,

and journaled at each outward ends past the top surface of 'outer edgethereof.

this step-01f mechanism will properly locatethe rod 56 with relation tothe socket I50. In order to" compensate for. any slight inaccuracy inthis relationship, the lower ends of the rods 56 are beveled in order toaid their seating in the socket I50.

To catch any pie crust that may fall from the pies during the rimmingoperations, a sheet metal table I52 may be provided just above theradiat This table is provided with holes 50,'and around the centralmember 44, and rotates with the pie carrying mechanism.

The pie crust trimming mechanism, which is situated directly above theposition assumed by a pie when lifted by the rod I26, consists of avertical'spindle I54 extending through a pillar I56 end in anti-frictionbear- For convenience in assembly, the pillar upper and a lower part,both ings I58.

I56 is made in an of which are secured to the table 24 by means of Iscrews I60.

oppositely extending horizontal shafts I64 are threaded into the crosspiece I62, and at their The outer periphery of these wheels, as bestshown in. Fig. 5, is so shaped that as a pie is lifted beneath theseoutters, while the shaft I54 is rotating, and outer lip I of the cuttersI66 extends downwardly the pie plate and cuts away the excess pie crustextending beyond the From the lip I10 on the periphery of the wheel I66the'curvature extends upwardly towards the shaftl64 ,toa point-.112,

and I28 carry rails I80 It should be understood, of course, that thecarry freely rotating pie crust cuttingwheels I66, mounted thereon bymeans of anti frictionbearings I68. the lower surface of the against the"After cleaning and downwardly again toward thepie plate to a point I14,and then upwardly; ag'a'n in the form of an 8 curve. Thus, as the .pieis raised beneaththese rollers, and the lip I10 trims the pie crust fromthe edge of the tin, the portion I14 pushes the top piecrust directlysomewhat, so that it will notinterfere with the crimping mechanism whichwill be described presently, and simultaneously the upwardly curvedportion I12 forms a bead of pie crust around the periphery of the pie,-It'is this raised bead which is formed intoa crimped edge by thecrimping mechanism. As seen in Figs. 1 and 2,- the upper end of theshaft I54 carries a sprocket I16 for the purpose of drivingthe shaft.

' The flour shifting mechanism comprises a container I18, which'may bemade of sheet metal other suitable material, secured in properlocation'beneath the table 24 by means of slide attached thereto betweenwhich an an- I82 attached to the upper end of I18 is slid. The lower endof the container I18 also has asimilar-fiange I84. The bottom of thecontainer I18 is covered by a fine wire mesh I86 clamped "against theflange I84 by means of a ring I88 secured to the flange by a pluralityof screws I90 substantially equally spaced around the circumference. Theupper surface of the mesh I86 supports a conical member I82 attachedthereto .by means of a circular plate I94 placed beneath the mesh andsecured to the conical structure by screws I96, thereby leavingonly anarrow annular ring I98 of the wire mesh uncovered.

An agitator 202 extends obliquely downwardly and rests upon the wiremesh I88. A plurality of substantially equally spaced pins 204 extendradially from the lower extremity of the agitator 282 and are positionedacross the exposed portion of the mesh I98 to serve as agitating bars.These bars agitate the flour and cause a portion of it to fall throughthe wire mesh on to the periphery of the pie when the agitator 202 isronular flange the container tated.

and has a kerf 2 I 2 extending across the end thereof. Apillar 2I4 isattached to the upper surface of the table 24 and has a shaft 2I6extending therethrough keyed to a bushing 2 I8. The lower end of theshaft 2I6 is provided with a collar 220 adapted to fit over the end ofthe shaft 206. A key 222 extends across the lower end of the shaft 2 I 6and serves to engage the kerf 2 I 2. bushing 2I8 rotates within thepillar 2I4 and is secured therein by a collar 223. The upper end of thisbushing is of reduced diameter and extends through the collar 223' andis threaded to a collar 225 which secures in place a ratchet wheel tobedescribed.

Surrounding the shaft tween the upper surface 2I6 and'extending beof thesleeve 220 and I bushing 218 is positioned a spring 224 which tends tourge the shaft 2I6 downwardly. By means of this construction, the shaft2 I6 can be grasped at its top and lifted pressure of the spring 224,thereby disengaging the key 222 from the kerf 2I2 and enabling thecontainer .I18 and the agitating mechanism therein Zto be withdrawn fromthe slide. I80, so that it may be cleaned or refilled. filling,,thecontainer can be into contact with 242, so that asthe-sprocket twiceduring each revolution mechanism more positive 'H'Z'brings the pie 'islinked around ,is revolvedby-the the pie crust cutting mechanism and thecrimp- .i-ng mechanism. sprockets 14,

thereby engaging'the key 222 in-the kerf 2I2 so that the agitatingmechanism may be driven by the shaft 2l'6 is supported by 2l6. In thisposition the shaft a collar '22'l at its: top se- A ratchet mentioned,is' keyed to the cured thereto by a wheel 226, previously bushing 2 l8and serves as a step-01f mechanism to rotate the bushing 2m and theagitator 202.

' -A lever 239 is swiveled-at the top of the pillar 2M on a collar 232and carries a pawl 234 urged into engagement with the ratchet wheel 226by a spring 236.

Two cams 238, best seen in Figs. 2 and 16, are attached to the lowersurface of the sprocket 14 by screws 240. The outer end of the lever 230extends beneath the sprocket 14 and is urged the cams 238by a coilspring 74 revolves, it will cause one of the cams 238 to be brought intocontact with the lever 230 and cause thelever to be oscillated totheleft, as seen in Fig. 1. beneath the sprocket 74 limits the inward m- Astop, not shown,

tion of the lever 230 under the influence of the spring 242. The cams238, as shown in Fig. 16, are supported in an off-center position, sothat the amount of throw given the lever 236 as the cam moves past thelever may be adjusted by clamping the cams against the sprocket 14 incliiferent positions. The cams 238 should be so located on the sprocket14 that they will cause two oscillations of the lever 236 in the timeinterval during which each of the pies is held stationarily beneath theflour sifter.

We prefer to use two cams each of which rotates the agitator slightly,rather than one larger cam, since the amount of flour thus depositedseems to be 'more easily controllable and the in its operation. It willbe appreciated, however, that under some circumstances only one cam, ormore than two cams could be used.

The next revolution of the step-01f mechanism on which the flourhas beensifted to a position beneath the crimping mechanism, the axis ofrotation of which is coaxial which the mechanism is driven.

To drive the crimping mechanism as well as the pie crust trimmer acontinuous chain 246 the sprockets 244, N6, the driving sprocket M, andan idling sprocket 248', which is adjustably mounted upon the table 24in a manner Well known and serves to adjust the slack in the chain 246.Thus,

, The relative sizes of the three H6, and 244 are adjusted so that asthe sprocket 74 revolves at a speed of approximately R. P. M., thesprocket I16 revolves at a speed of approximately 60 R. P. M.,

while sprocketZM revolves at about R. P. M.

It Will be understood that these relative speeds and that widevariations may be However, having :been found meshed crimping members2;2r9;44s -slid back into. position and the rod 216 lowered,Lsatisfactoryeiniservicemthese: relative speedsxare rgiveinfora-purposes l of ..'illustration.-'

sand. through the: center. of 'arsunigear. 256, rigidlyesecuredctosthecunderfside hithetable 24 in any in Fig. 2.

.The'lower end of the'shaft 240 is secured to a generally horizontallydisposed arm 254 by and key 258. One end of bearings 264. Thisroller 262is designed to be in contact with the. outer periphery of i the pie.plate as the shaft 262} is the-axis of'the shaft 24 1.

moved in a circle about The purpose of-this roller is toprevent thecrimping mechanism, which will be. described shortly, from pushing thepie tin sideways out of the pie tin carrying 256, and cause the twoshafts 268 and 270 to revolve on their respective axes.

The lower end of the shafts 268 and 270 carry 278 and 286, respectively.The configuration we prefer to use is shown in Fig. 13; will beunderstood that wide variations from the design shown can be made,depending upon the form of the crimp it is desired to use.

In order to prevent the pie crust from being torn by these crimpers, thegear 250 members may be permitted to give the machine a previouslyformed. The next rotation of the the pie beneath'the crimping sta-i cam'Hibrings tion where the cam I6 and its associated mechanism raise thelifter IM. This lifter engages the shaft 56 thereby locking the tableagainst rotation, and lifts the pie 'nto engagement with the crimpingelements 218 and 280. The pie is held in this lifted position for ashort interval of time during which the crimping elements are run aroundthe periphery of the pie and-form the crimp in the bead previouslyformed in the manner described in connection with the descrip tion ofthe crimping revolution of the cam 16, the pie is lowered and the tablestepped off another sixth of a revolution, thus, bringing the pie to aposition where the operator can remove it fromthe pie rack and replaceit with another pie to be operated upon. 7

Ordinarily as pies come to the crimping machinethey will haveenoughflour on the top crust to prevent the trimming and bead forming rollersfrom sticking. After this trimming operation, however, the flouroriginally on the pie will have been kneaded into the crust, thus makingit advisable to provide the flour sifter shown. operations do not leaveenough flour on the pie to prevent its sticking to the cutting and beadforming rollers, it is advisable to use two flour sifters, one beforeeach of the kneading stations. In ordinary use, however, we believe thatthe one shown and described will be suflicient.

Under certain conditions enough flour mightbe placed upon the pie beforethe pie arrives at the first working station to prevent the crust fromsticking to e'ther the bead forming or the crimping mechanism. Thiswould obviate the necessity of the flour sifter in the position shownand described in the preferred embodiment.

It will be understood that another expedient for preventing stickingwould be to blow the flour onto the working elements rather thanapplying it to the pie crust, although we prefer to accomplish theresult sought in the manner illustrated and described, since it does nothave the disadvantage of making it difficult to prevent the scatteringof flour around the room.

Although we have shown a preferred embodiment of our invention, it willbe understood that variations can be made therefrom, while stillincorporating the novel features herein disclosed. It will beunderstood, therefore, that the scope of this invention is to bedetermined by an inspection of the following claims.

Having described a preferred embodiment of our invention, what we claimas new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described having a conveyor movable in stepsto carry pies in succession beneath a plurality of operating stations,and constantly rotatable means to move the conveyor one step for eachrevolution thereof, a

beneath these rollers.

beneath said crimping elements;

flour dusting device comprisingone of said stations, said device havinganannular slot in the lower portion riphery of a pie may be registered,ering' said screen movable to force a controlled amount of flour throughsaid screen, and mechanism responsive to the constantly" rotatable meansto move the agitator aslight amount revolution of said means. 1

2. In a device of the class described having crimping elements and aconveyor to carry means operable to prevent sticking of the crimpingelements comprising a container for flour, a bottom for said containerhaving an annular slot therein to with the raised periphery of a pieposito cover said anregister tioned therebeneath, a screen nular slot,an agitator above flour therethrough, and-a rotatable shaft to rotatethe agitator, said container and agitator being detachable from theshaft and removable asa unit for cleaning and filling purposes.

3. A pie flouring device having a generally circular lower end, a screencovering the said lower end of saidcontainer, a, circular imperforatemember resting upon the central portion of said screen and providing anannular perforate area between the lower end of the container and theperiphery of the im agitator in said container,

perforate member, an and means to move said agitator through the annularperforate area.

4. A pastrydusting'device for depositing an edible dustover an annularare'a comprising a containerhaving an opening in the bottom thereof,said opening having a shape similar to the shape of the outsideedge ofthe area to be dusted, a perforate member covering said opening,janimperforate member secured to the central portion of said perforatemember and defining an annular perforate area therearound similar to thearea to be dusted, and an agitator in said con tainer to force perforatearea.

5. In a machine pies having a dusting mechanism to deposit flour upon apie and a frame to support said dusting mechanism, said dustingmechanism comprising a container having an annular perforate portion inthe bottom thereof, an agitator in said container and rotatable upon avertical axis and adapted to force flour through said perforate portion,supporting means secured to said frame and adapted removably to supportsaid container, a drive member supported by said frame and adapted todrive said agitator, and means quickly to disconnect said drive memberfrom the agitator to permit removal of the dusting mechanism from theframe for cleaning and filling purposes.

6. In a pastry flouring device, the combination of a support-with adriving motor and speed reducing gearing carried by said support, adriven shaft rotatably carried by said support, step-bystep mechanisminterposed between said driven shaft and said speed reducing gearing fordriving said shaft step by step, a container carried by said support,said container having a sieve bottom of predetermined shape, an agitatorextending into said container and having agitating members located closeto said sieve bottom on the inside and adapted to effect a discharge offlour or the like from said sieve bottom when the agitator is actuatedwhereby dusted by flour discharged from said sieve botdust thereinthrough said annular slot, an agitator directly above said during eachv1'0- pies the screen to urgev comprising a container pastry .may be toforce flour for operating upon unfinished tom at: predetermined timeswhen pastry is 10- cated-beneath; said sieve bottom in predeterminedposition."

L-Ina pastry vfiouringdevice, the combination ozf,support with adrivingv motor-and speed reducinggearing carried by'said support, adriven shaftrotatably carriedby said support, step-bystep,mechanis1n-interposed between said driven shaft and said-speedreducingegearing for driving said shaft step by step, a,containercarriedby saidsupporasaid container having a sieve bottomiofpredetrminedshapaan agitator extendingl intosaid container and havingagitating members located-close to said sieve bottom on the insideandadapted to effecta discharge of flour orthe like-iroin. said sievebottom when the tion, said container being locatedbelow said support,and saiddriven shaft being located above said supportysaid-container andsaid support having complementary guide means for detachably securingsaidcontainerbeiow said support.

8; In a pastry flouring device, the combination of a support with adriving motor and speed reducinggearing carried by said support, adriven shaft rotatablycarried b said support, step-byingsaid shaft stepby step, a container carried by said support, said container having asieve tending into said container and having agitating members locatedclose to said sieve bottom on the insideand adapted to efiect adischargeof flour or the like from said sieve bottom whenthe agitator is actuatedwhereby pastry may be dusted by. flour discharged from said sieve bottomat inside andladapted to efiect a discharge'of flour an'. annularportion of the sieve exposed, and said agitator including a plurality ofradially and longitudinally extending: spider arms embracing said bailieand supporting-a ring,- and said agitat ingmembers comprising: radiallyextending pins.

LLOYD, J. HARRISS. BERNARD LAMBERS.

